The Tale of Two Best Friends
by Spottedmask12
Summary: Spottedpaw and Rainpaw have been best friends since they were born, but then something happens and they lose trust in each other. Also a darkness looms over the clans. If the two friends don't find trust they may lose everything they love including their clan. They must learn to trust each other so that they may fight together when the battle comes. That or die!
1. Friends Forever

Ch.1: Friends Forever

"Spottedpaw, wake up." A voice said impatiently disturbing my sleep.

I groaned as I opened my eyes to see bright sunlight entering the den. My head jerked up. I had overslept. Sorreltail was going to kill me. I glanced over at the entrance to the apprentice den and saw Rainpaw standing there calling me.

"What is it Rainpaw." I said trying to suppress a yawn.

"We are to meet Whitewing, Sorreltail, Ashfur, and Brambleclaw at the training hollow. I'm suspecting we will be training with Lionpaw and Berrypaw." Rainpaw announced.

"Well we better get going then." I said cheerfully.

As we headed out into the forest Rainpaw turned to me and said in a small voice, "Spottedpaw we'll always be friends right? I mean nothing will ever get between us right? We'll always be best friends."

"Yes Rainpaw we will be best friends forever. Let's promise though just to make sure." I assured her.

"Okay, best friends forever." Rainpaw said and put her paw on top of mine.

"Best friends forever." I echoed. Nothing would ever get between us. We were to close. We would always be best friends.


	2. Training

Ch.2: Training

Rainpaw and I skidded into the training hollow. We looked around surprised. It was empty.

"Where is everyone?" I asked perplexed. They should have been waiting. Just then my ear pricked up. I heard soft paw steps coming towards us. I turned around my hackles raised. There was Lionpaw standing straight in front of me. His orange fur was blazing like a fire in the sunlight. He stared around the training hollow.

"Where is everyone?" He asked me.

"I have no clue. They weren't here when Rainpaw and I got here either." I responded.

Just then Berrypaw came sliding into us. He was panting.

"Sorry I'm late; I got held up with the elders." He suddenly stopped as he realized he was talking to air. None of the mentors were there. "Hey where is Brambleclaw." Berrypaw asked.

"We don't know where he is. He and the others weren't here when we got here. Do you think something happened to them?" Rainpaw asked her eyes clouded in worry.

"I'm sure they're fine. In fact I bet they are just hiding and waiting for the right time to ambush us, so that they can see how we work together against a stronger enemy." I said confidently.

"Really, you think so?" Lionpaw said his eyes betraying his excitement.

"Yup, in probably a couple minutes they will leap out at us." I said. We sat down to wait.

Brambleclaw glanced at Sorreltail, "Are you sure you didn't tell Spottedpaw what we were going to do?"

"Yes I'm sure," Sorreltail said annoyed, "She didn't even know we would be training until Rainpaw woke her up."

"Well then she must be smart." Whitewing said.

"Good, Firestar will be pleased." Brambleclaw stared through the bushes at the apprentices as they waited.

"What does Firestar have to do with this?" Sorreltail asked.

"He told me to watch his daughter and to update him on her performance. He wants to make sure you aren't going too hard on her. It took a lot of convincing that this training will be very educational and that nobody would get hurt." Brambleclaw explained, "Come on, it's almost time."

I stared into the bushes scanning for Brambleclaw and the other mentors. They should have been here by now. My friends were getting antsy. Rainpaw was wiggling as she sat, Lionpaw was pacing, and Berrypaw was practicing his hunter crouch. Only I was sitting completely still. Rainpaw opened her mouth to ask something when a flash of fur distracted my eyes. I held up my tail to silence her and tried to see what had startled me, but there was nothing there. I glanced around puzzled. The others now aware that something was not right followed me around the hollow. Suddenly I saw it again only it didn't stay in the shadows. The figure leaped out at me and I sprang backwards as six other cats followed the first one. This was not our mentors. I knew that. We were in deep trouble.

"Look how nice there mentors were to leave a nice set of apprentices for our pickings," A dark looking tom said sneering down at me. His sharp teeth gleamed in the sunlight. I gulped. My eyes stared hugely up at him.

"I think we should start with this one, Russetfur!" The tom shouted at a dark ginger cat over near Lionpaw. _Russetfur! _I recognized that name. She was Shadowclan's deputy. That meant that our ambushers were from Shadowclan. Well I didn't care if they were from the meanest clan I wasn't going to let them take me down without a fight. They had better watch out.

"Go ahead, Smokefoot, be my guest." Russetfur said as she gestured to me.

"My pleasure," Smokefoot snarled as he sent a claw swipe my direction. I jumped nimbly out of the way; no way was he going to get me that easily. I sprang and clung to his back with my hind legs while my front claws scored down his back. Around me I heard the sound of my friend fighting the Shadowclan warriors and apprentices. We were hopelessly outnumbered I knew, but I didn't give up hope. _We could do this_ I thought, _we could. _

Sorreltail looked out fearfully at the apprentices, "Brambleclaw we have to help them. If we don't they'll get killed."

"Of course we will go help them, let's go!" Brambleclaw ordered. He wasn't going to let anyone hurt his son or Firestar's daughter.

Sorreltail gasped as she saw Smokefoot throw Spottedpaw off. Spottedpaw hit some rocks hard, but she got straight back up. She charged right back into the battle. Sorreltail sprang after Brambleclaw and rushed to go help Spottedpaw.

I heard paw steps thundering through the bushes. Was it more Shadowclan warriors here to finish us off? But no the minute Sorreltail landed at my side I knew that our mentors were here to help. With the new help we chased off the Shadowclan invaders. At the border, Russetfur yelled at us before she ran off, "We'll be back. You'll see!"

I was so tired. The battle had taken all my energy, and my body felt like it was on fire. Rainpaw came up to me and said, "You okay?"

"Yeah," I replied, "You?"

"She just nodded. Our mentors took us back to the training hollow to access how injured we were. I glanced around. Berrypaw had one ear shredded and a patch of fur on his shoulder missing, but besides that he was fine. Lionpaw held one paw off the ground as though it was sprained. He also had a torn ear. Rainpaw had lost almost all her fur on her one side, but other than that was fine. I had a scratch on my shoulder that stung, and also a long scratch down my belly that was drenched in blood. All of us looked beaten up and tired.

Brambleclaw took one look at us and sighed, "Let's get you guys back to camp." We followed without a complain. Our tails drooping as we stumbled over sticks and stones. We walked into camp and the first thing I heard was, "Spottedpaw?"

_Oh Starclan! _I thought _I forgot about Firestar!_


	3. Young Love

Ch.3: Young Love

I glanced up to see my father staring at me in horror. Did I really look that bad?

"Spottedpaw are you okay?" Firestar asked worried.

I nodded my head even though I didn't feel okay.

"What happened?" Firestar growled as he turned from me to Brambleclaw.

Brambleclaw didn't flinch. Instead he answered, "Shadowclan decided to give these apprentices a little visit."

"Did you drive them away?"

"Yes," Brambleclaw said, "The apprentices did really well, Firestar."

"Good, now all of you go to the medicine cat den and get treated we don't need infected wounds."

It was a week after the Shadowclan accident and the gathering was tonight.

"The cats going to the gathering are Sandstorm, Brackenfur, Ashfur, Sorreltail, Brook, Stormfur, Whitewing, Mousefur, Longtail, Honeypaw, Lionpaw, Hollypaw, Jaypaw, Rainpaw, and Spottedpaw. Those cats should meet me at the entrance to the camp." Firestar announced then leapt down to go and stand with Brambleclaw and Leafpool.

I was so excited! I was going to my first gathering!

I ran over to Rainpaw and we started squealing like kits.

"We're going to the gathering! We're going to the gathering!" We sang as we bounced around the clearing.

"Calm down you two, it's only a gathering. It's really not that exciting." Lionpaw said. Rainpaw and I stared at him like he was crazy and he was. _Only a gathering? ONLY A GATHERING! _We were finally going to meet the other clans and he was saying it was no big deal. HUH!

At the gathering there are so many cats. Some are huge, even bigger than Firestar. Some are small and I guess that they are apprentices.

"Come on I'll introduce you too to some of the apprentices." Lionpaw says as he leads me and Rainpaw over to a group of cats.

"Hey Minnowpaw." Lionpaw said, "This is Spottedpaw and Rainpaw, they're the two newest apprentices."

"Hi, I'm Minnowpaw, and these are Pouncepaw and Pebblepaw." A gray she-cat said smiling friendlily. I stared at her two companions. Pouncepaw was a ginger and white tom while Pebblepaw was a handsome mottled gray tom. Ack, where did that come from? I could not like him. He's from another clan for Starclan's sake! If my father found out I loved a Riverclan tom he would kill me! But the more I told myself I didn't like him the more I did.

"Hey," Pouncepaw said before turning to Lionpaw who was arguing with Minnowpaw about which freshkill was better Mouse or Fish and joining in to the argument.

"Hey," Pebblepaw said the same thing, but oh did it sound different. For one he didn't turn around and start talking with Lionpaw, he started to talk to ME!

"So," He said, "How long have you been an apprentice?"

"Oh a couple weeks, you?" I asked trying to act cool.

"Me too," He said, "Have you had to be in any fights?"

"Yeah, Shadowclan ambushed Rainpaw, Lionpaw, Berrypaw, and me while we were waiting for our mentors to do the same." I responded feeling proud.

"You are so lucky! I can't wait for my first battle!" He said sounding envious.

"It really wasn't that big of a deal though my father was furious when he found out that Brambleclaw let us get ambushed."

"Who's your father?" He asked.

"Firestar." I answered.

"Oh that must be rough. Everyone's expecting you to live up to your father." He said sounding sympathetic.

Rainpaw then padded up to me, and said," Hey we have to go. The gathering's over." _Over?! All ready?! _Pebblepaw and I had been enjoying talking to each other that we hadn't even notice the leaders talking.

"Bye," I said to Pebblepaw.

"See you next time." He replied before he disappeared to join his clan mates.

All the way back to camp Rainpaw was chatting about the gathering, but I didn't hear a word she said. My mind was too full of thoughts about a handsome Riverclan tom.


End file.
